1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to devices used in outdoor cooking and indoor barbecuing, and more particularly to an improved device for circularly slitting wieners.
2. Statement of the Prior Art
In previous years one of the inventors of the present invention has manufactured a device for circularly slitting wieners for outdoor cooking. The device included a wooden cylinder with an axial bore of such a diameter that a wiener could be passed through the bore. The device also included a razor blade disposed within the bore of the cylinder.
In order to manufacture this device a multiple step process was necessary: first, a cylindrical piece of wood had to be cut to the proper length; second, an axial bore had to be drilled; third, the cylindrical piece of wood had to be shaped on a lathe; fourth, a slot had to be cut into the outer surface of the cylindrical piece of wood through it to its inner surface; fifth, a razor blade had to be inserted into the slot and secured therein with a bonding agent such as glue or epoxy. This multiple step process was too expensive and too time consuming for this inventor to continue manufacturing and selling these devices.
The other inventor experimented with several plastic devices including a plastic cylinder with an axial bore in which a plastic blade with a smooth and straight cutting edge is disposed. The plastic blade was not sharp enough to cut through the skin of the wieners so the inventor serrated the edges of the blade in an attempt to find a blade that could saw through the skin. Even though the serrated was able to saw through the skin of the wieners, it did not function inside the plastic cylinder because the cutting edge of the blade distributed its cutting pressure over the entire area of the skin rather than on a small area of the skin of the wieners. The device, as a result of this distribution of cutting pressure, was tearing slits in the wieners rather than cutting slits into the wieners.
The inventors decided that a plastic blade that could cuts slits, rather than tear slits, in the wieners would be ideal because it could be injection molded in a one step process. They rejected an alternative process of injection molding the plastic cylinder with a slot already formed and inserting a razor blade into the slot. This alternative process did not produce a device which eliminated many of the minor problems created by the original device for slitting wieners. The original device was an outdoor cooking implement that was used by the entire family. Children would often cut their fingers on the sharp razor blade inside the cylinder. A plastic blade in unlikely to cut a child's finger. The original device was often left outdoors and therefore its razor blade was exposed to oxidation and the formation of rust on the blade, which dulled the blade and made its replacement necessary. The original device had a tendency to collect organic debris at the interface of the slot and the razor blade thereby making the device a health hazard.
In spite of all these problems the inventor was able to sell as many of the original devices as he could make and he was unable to keep up with the demand because the multiple step process was becoming too costly as were the raw materials.